National Holden Motor Museum to close

After thirty years of operation, the National Holden Motor Museum in the Victorian border town of Echuca will close its doors this April. The owners and directors of the museum, Tony Galea and Mark Galea, made the announcement via social media on 18 January.

“It’s with sadness and regret that we announce the impending closure of the National Holden Motor Museum on 14th April, 2024,” the statement read.

“The Holden museum has been part of Echuca since 1993 and it has been the longest continuously running single-make museum in Australia.”

With Tony and Mark approaching retirement, they began looking for a new owner to take over the profitable and successful business some time ago, with the hope to keep it in Echuca, too.

“Unfortunately, no serious buyers came forward, so we will close on 14th April and auction the contents which belong to us on 18th May, 2024,” the statement continued.

Burns & Co. Auctions will conduct the auction, which will include collectables, memorabilia and display items, as well as cars. However, of the approximately 50 vehicles on display in the museum, many are on loan from private owners, so those vehicles will not be part of the auction.

The museum originally opened in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater in 1984, then relocated to Bendigo and Wangaratta in regional Victoria, before settling in the Murray River town of Echuca in 1993. Cars on display cover the full spread of Holden’s Australian production, from the 48-215 to the VF, as well as prototypes and concepts.

When Holden’s Heritage Collection was broken up in 2020, the Echuca museum received an HJ Statesman concept, the last WB Statesman built, an EJ ute, VB Commodore SL/E and a VF Chevrolet SS export model, as well as the last VF ute (an SS Redline) and Caprice sedan built in Australia.

Cutaway Holden engines and engineering studies are part of the museum’s attractions, along with dealership signage, scale models, posters and other promotional material.

Holden owners and enthusiasts are encouraged to visit the museum before it closes permanently. It’s located at 7-11 Warren Street (100 metres from the Historic Port of Echuca) and open from 9AM to 5PM, seven days a week.

For more details on the museum, go to: holdenmuseum.com.au. For more details on the 18 May Burns & Co. auction, go to: burnsandcoauctions.com.au